Navelim: Luizinho Faleiro locked in a close battle with a host of players including Avertano Furtado and others.
Velim: Filipe Neri Rodrigues' situation is still not clear. It is further compounded by the presence of 12 candidates in the fray
Nuvem: Political observers are keeping their fingers crossed on Wilfred D'Sa
MARGAO
Will the Congress gamble to go alone in the election with four new faces, two sitting MLAs and as many veterans of many a political battles, help the party regain its lost glory in its bastion Salcete?
This question has come to the fore as Salcete holds the key for the Congress in the formation of the party government. The party’s poor showing in the 2012 election with the Congress unable to cross the two-digit figure was primarily attributed to the party’s unprecedented decimation in Salcete, where the party could manage to win just two out of the eight seats at stake.
With just three days to go for the elections, The Goan takes a close look at the party’s position in the eight Assembly seats, where the new comers and the old faces are battling a whole lot of opponents in its fiefdom.
Party’s decision to field four new faces in Salcete must have won kudos for the Party leadership, but the young candidates are locked in a fierce battle with old foes or former Congress leaders. The new faces in Cuncolim and Nuvem, Clafacio Dias and Wilfred D’Sa respectively are locked in a keen battle with rebel Congress leader Joaquim Alemao and Goa Su Raj Party chief Mickky Pacheco respectively.
In Cuncolim, the battle has virtually narrowed down between Clafacio and Joaquim, with both the camps exuding confidence in winning the seat. The ground reality is somewhat different in Nuvem. While sitting MLA Mickky Pacheco's bid to seek re-election from Nuvem is being challenged by his friend turned foe. Political observers are still keeping their fingers crossed on the outcome of the battle, with NCP's Vincent Rodrigues expected to cover a lot of ground in Nuvem village.
In the remaining two seats of Benaulim and Fatorda, the Congress is facing an uphill task to establish its foothold again. Both Edwin Baretto in Benaulim and Joseph Silva in Fatorda will need to cover a lot of ground if they hope to come anywhere close to winning their respective seats.
On the other hand, poll watchers say the two sitting MLAs, five-time Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and two-time Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, have managed to cover a lot of ground in the last few days to further strengthen their position and brace up for a final assault on their opponents.
The Congress, however, is facing a keen tussle in the remaining two seats of Navelim and Velim, where State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro and former minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, are in the fray. In Navelim, Faleiro appears locked in a close battle with a host of players, including sitting MLA Avertano Furtado and others. As many as six candidates, including Faleiro, Avertano, Cipru Cardozo, Sidharth Karapurkar, Jorge Barretto and Duarte Pires, are vying for slice of votes from Navelim village, which was once the State Congress president’s stronghold. That’s not all. Almost every player has made their presence felt in Rumdamol to storm the housing board with an eye on the migrant votes.
The situation appears still unclear in Velim, where three-time former MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues is making a comeback. It is further compounded by the presence of 12 candidates in the fray, the highest amongst the constituencies in Goa.
